In 'The Grape Man,' after developing a kinship with her downstairs neighbor, Don, Crosley is unsure how to grieve someone she hardly knows when Don dies. When she later learns that Edgardo is heartsick and lonely, she suddenly understands his humanity. In 'Up the Down Volcano,' over the course of Crosley's experience climbing Cotopaxi, a mountain in Ecuador, she becomes increasingly frustrated with her guide, Edgardo. In 'The Chupacabra,' Crosley's trip to Vermont in search of a mythical creature forces her into an unexpected encounter with a new reality. However, upon returning to New York, she realizes she has only been occupying a parallel version of reality and thus herself. Crosley subconsciously hopes the experience will change her. In 'If You Take the Canoe Out,' Crosley is thrilled to get some time out of New York when her friend Margeaux invites her to house-sit for her in Russian River, California. In 'You Someday Lucky,' Crosley mocks her new coworker's obsession with the Enneagram personality system, until she realizes her attachment to a particular fortune cookie fortune. In 'A Dog Named Humphrey,' Crosley's experience appearing on the popular television series Gossip Girl unexpectedly forces her to claim ownership of her identity as an author.

Their proximity thus dissolves the boundaries between public and private space. Jared spends all of his time socializing and partying in the yard adjacent to Crosley's building. In 'Outside Voices,' Crosley's idyllic life in her new West Village apartment is foiled by her teenage neighbor Jared. She initially tries to let the incident go, but realizes that the man has broken some unspoken code of New York social conduct. In 'Wheels Up,' Crosley is outraged when a man whose girlfriend is in a wheelchair steals her cab on the way to the airport. The following summary relies upon the present tense and a streamlined mode of explanation. However, Crosley's first person perspective guides the reader through each of these raucous and reflective personal narratives. Each essay possesses its own subject matter, form, tone, and style.

Sloane Crosley's Look Alive Out There is a collection of 16 essays.

The following version of this book was used to create the guide: Crosley, Sloane.

Look alive out there by sloane crosley